WEBVTT ESPECIALLY, ABOUT TRUSTINGSTRANGERS ONLINE.THREE MEN, FACE FEDERAL CHARGES,AFTER INVESTIGATORS SAY THEYMURDERED A 22-YEAR-OLD MAN FROMNEW JERSEY IN OCTOBER OF LASTYEAR, AND LEFT HIS BODY IN ASHALLOW GRAVE IN SOME WOODS INGAITHERSBURG.>> AFTER ENGAGING INCONVERSATION WITH THE VICTIM ONTHE INTERNET, FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS,THEY LURED HIM HERE TO MARYLANDWHERE THEY KILLED HIM.REPORTER: POLICE SAY THE MENKILLED JORDY MEJIA IN THE WOODSON OCTOBER 15, BUT THE PLOTSTARTED ON WHEN 19-YEAR-OLDOCTOBER 1 NERIS MORENO-MARTINEZALLEGEDLY POSED AS A WOMAN NAMEDSHAILA SMITH ON FACEBOOK, ANDSTRUCK UP A ROMANTICRELATIONSHIP WITH THE VICTIM.>> THE VICTIM WAS PERSUADED AS ARESULT OF THIS COMMUNICATION,OVER FACEBOOK, TO ACTUALLY PICUP IN NEW JERSEY, TRAVELED DOWNHERE TO MARYLAND THINKING HE WAS, GOING TO MEET THIS WOMAN FOR ARELATIONSHIP.REPORTER: ACCORDING TOINVESTIGATORS, MORENO TRAVELEDFROM NEW JERSEY AS WELL WHILE THE OTHER 2 SUSPECTS,19-YEAR-OLD JOSEMELENDEZ-RIVERA.AND 21-YEAR-OLD REYNALDOGRANADOS-VASQUEZ.WERE ALREADY LIVING IN MARYLAND.THE FEDERAL INDICTMENT DOESN'TTALK ABOUT HOW THE VICTIM WASKILLED OR A MOTIVE, BUTINVESTIGATORS IN MONTGOMERYCOUNTY SAY THAT THE 3 MEN WEREPART OF THE MS-13 GANG.HIKERS DISCOVERED JORDY MEJIA'SBODY ABOUT A MONTH AFTER HE WASKILLED.>> FALSE TRUST IS AN APPROPRIATEWAY TO SUMMARIZE THIS CASE, ANDALSO I THINK AN APPROPRIATEMESSAGE FOR KIDS AND TEENAGERSTO KEEP IN MIND WHEN THEY DEALWITH PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET THATTHEY MAY, IF THEY TRUST SOMEBODYTHEY DEAL WITH, ONLYELECTRONICALLY, IT MAY IN FACTBE FALSE TRUST.REPORTER: INVESTIGATORS SAY THESUSPECTS WERE INDENTIFIED PARTLYTHROUGH CELL PHONE RECORDS.THE 3 MEN INDICTED IN THISFEDERAL CASE.FACE STATE CHARGES IN MONTGOMERYCOUNTY AS WELL.THERE ARE ALSO MORE ALLEGEDCO-CONSPIRATORS CHARGED IN THESTATE CASE.LIVE IN THE STUDIO, KAI REED,

A federal grand jury has indicted three men and accused them of using Facebook to lure a man from New Jersey to Maryland to kill him.

The homicide occurred five months ago, and police said the suspects buried the victim's body in a shallow grave in Gaithersburg.

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Investigators said there are a lot of details that will come out at trial, including why the suspects allegedly chose this particular victim.

But police are using the case as a warning, to young people especially, about trusting strangers online.

Investigators said the suspects killed Jordy Mejia, 22, of New Jersey, on Oct. 15, 2016 and left his body in a shallow grave in some woods in Gaithersburg.

“After engaging in conversation with the victim on the Internet for about two weeks, they lured him here to Maryland where they killed him,” U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said.

Police said the plot to kill Mejia started last Oct.1, when Neris Moreno-Martinez, 19, allegedly posed as a woman named Shaila Smith on Facebook and struck up a romantic relationship with the victim.

“The victim was persuaded as a result of this communication over Facebook to actually pick up in New Jersey and travel down here to Maryland thinking he was going to meet this woman for a relationship,” Rosenstein said.

According to investigators, Moreno traveled from New Jersey as well, while the other two suspects -- Jose Melendez-Rivera, 19, and Reynaldo Granados-Vasquez, 21, were already living in Maryland.

The federal indictment does not talk about how the victim was killed, or a motive behind the crime, but investigators in Montgomery County said that the three men were part of the MS-13 gang.

Hikers discovered Mejia's body about a month after he was killed.

“False trust is an appropriate way to summarize this case,” Rosenstein said. Also I think an appropriate message for kids and teenagers to keep in mind when they deal with people on the internet that they may if they trust somebody they deal with only electronically, it may in fact be false trust,” Rosenstein said.

Investigators said the suspects were identified partly through cellphone records. The three men indicted in this federal case face state charges in Montgomery County as well.

There are also more alleged co-conspirators charged in the state case.